The purpose of this project is to explore women's thoughts, opinions, and ideas about vaginal products. The investigators will ask women to help design the best strategy for applying a vaginal product using a specific kind of applicator. The investigators want to identify designs that women think would be easy to prepare and insert. Women's thoughts and opinions will help researchers develop new products called microbicides that may protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, that are easy to use, and that will be acceptable to women who use them. If researchers can make products that are easy to use and that women like to use, the products will be used more often, and more infections will be prevented.

Women who enroll in the project will either participate in a focus group with approximately 3-7 other women or a one-on-one cognitive interview. All participants will complete a brief questionnaire. Some women may enroll in both stages.

Each focus group will take approximately 1.5-2.5 hours. Group leaders will talk to women about their experiences using vaginal products and will provide participants with study products to look at and touch. All participants will be asked to come up with ideas of how to make the products easy to use and acceptable to women who use them. Group leaders will encourage discussion about the different designs. After this, group leaders will talk about a specific type of microbicide and ask women about their opinions. In particular, researchers and participants will talk about the language that would be best understood by women who would use these products or be in studies to evaluate them.

Each cognitive interview will take approximately 1.5-2.5 hours. Each participant will be asked about different product designs and application instructions, and will be asked her thoughts, opinions, and potential concerns about each. She will also evaluate sample language that will be used to help women understand the products and how to use them.

Females who are 18-45 years old, HIV negative or unknown (self report), non-pregnant and not intending to get pregnant (self report), and report vaginal sex with a man in the past 12 months.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Women who:

are between the ages of 18 and 45 at prescreening

report vaginal sex with a man in the past 12 months at prescreening

report negative pregnancy status and no intention to become pregnant during the course of the study

report negative or unknown HIV status, and

are willing and able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Women who:

self-report being pregnant, or intention to become pregnant during the course of the study

self-report being HIV-positive

self-report an allergy or sensitivity to vaginal contraceptive film (VCF), nonoxynol-9 (N9), or product(s) containing N9

are unable or unwilling to give informed consent, or

have any condition that, in the opinion of the project leader or principle investigator, would compromise the participant's ability to participate in the study.

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01859195